Interesting but narration not needed.

May 17, 2009

by mint910

Rating:

+1

Hmm I was really interested to see this movie because I figured it could turn out to be anything, I really had no idea what it would be like. It surprised me how light the movie sort of was, I mean it was no chick flick romance comedy but it wasn't nearly as heavy as I thought it might be. Woody Allen is all over the place so I had no idea what to expect. I would definitely compare it to Scoop and also a bit to Matchpoint.

One thing that was kind of weird and distracting to me was that the movie had some narration in it. Not like The Royal Tenebaums Alec Baldwin narration but like the Shopgirl Steve Martin narration, it was just distracting. I think it would have been better with a different voice but I had a hard time following along when there was narration.

I liked all the characters and surprisingly to me I kind of liked Penelop Cruz in this movie, she usually just doesn't do it for me, but this time she did. I loved the scenes between her, Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem. Those were the best to me.

Anyhow, the movie was interesting. I feel like ranking it. I thought it was better than Scoop but not as good as Matchpoint. So there is that.

About half way through Vicky Cristina Barcelona, my wife and I decided this was just not a good movie. I managed to slog through to the bitter end. The most annoying part of the film is the voice over narration read by Christopher Evan Welch. This was supposed to be some form of creative funny device, that just served to annoy after the first 30 minutes. Technically this is a good film, Woody Allen does know how to direct skillfully. Story-wise and acting, this was just a mess. Two … more

With Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Woody Allen has created yet another drop-the-viewer-in-the-middle-of-someone's-life story. I like it. If nothing else, there's much to love about the setting of the story. I love Barcelona...lot's of fond memories. But back to the movie. With a cast of strange and engaging characters (though only superficially), it's easy to let the light storyline string you along. The extent to which we come to know each of the characters … more

... Okay, okay, the twits are not bad looking, but I learned long ago, the hard way, that looks aren't everything. I could, if I wanted to start a fight in the comment thread, propose that Woody Allen intended us to take his two escapees from "Friends" as a biting satire of the airy-fairy mentality of young American women of a certain generation. From that perspective, I'd call VCB a great movie, or at least "not bad at all." Honestly, though, I can't say that I would have chosen to spend almost … more

Woody Allen has written and directed another European based film that feels like a view across the pond toward America: Allen is still Allen, but with the comparison of European attitudes with American narcissism makes this little film a bit more bitter than most of his others. As with most of Allen's movies, as fine as they are there are usually some annoying elements. In VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA that element is in the presence of an unseen narrator (Christopher Evan Welch) who provides the bridges … more

If there is a message to be garnered from the 2008 film, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," its that director, Woody Allen, at 72 seems just as confused about life as he did way back in the 70s when he first pondered life and romance in his classics, "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan." Instead of focusing on life from his seasoned vantage point by portraying characters that are a little more chronologically concurrent with his personal experience, Allen resorts to having a cast of relative youngsters--in particular … more

It's been a LONG time since Woody Allen gave us a film that was truly meaningful and had something "deep" to say about life, love and the human condition. My favorite is HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, but CRIMES & MISDEMEANORS and HUSBANDS & WIVES (with Sydney Pollack's and Judy Davis' greatest performances) are Allen's most recent classics. Since that time, almost everyone would agree that his work has been pretty mediocre. In recent years, MATCH POINT saw Allen moving to London and the change in locale … more

It was probably after Bullets Over Broadway (1994) that I became weary of Woody Allen's films and avoided those that followed. Then, while reading various reviews of recently released films, I was encouraged to see Vicky Cristina Barcelona and thoroughly enjoyed it. Apparently content to write its screenplay and then direct it without appearing in it, Allen's unique influence continues to be significant but inconspicuous as he allows his characters and plot to develop naturally. Here's the situation. … more

Wiki

It must be true that getting out of town can do a fellow a lot of good, becauseVicky Cristina Barcelonais the best movie Woody Allen has made in years. Okay, you're right, 2006'sMatch Pointalready claimed that honor and, as Allen's first film made in England, established the virtues of getting away from overfamiliar territory (namely Manhattan). But the Woodman's first film made in Spain matches the ice-coldMatch Pointfor crisp authority, and yields a good deal more sheer pleasure besides. Rebecca Hall (Vicky) and Scarlett Johansson (Cristina) play two young Americans, best friends, spending a summer in Catalonia. Vicky is going for a master's in "Catalan identity" (though her Spanish is shaky); Cristina is going along for, oh, just about anything. That soon includes celebrated abstract artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), who's anything but abstract in his forthright proposition that the two join him in his private plane, his travels, and his bed. That he has an insane ex-wife, Maria Elena (Penélope Cruz), who may or may not have tried to kill him is not really an issue until the wife reappears and ... well, consider the possibilities.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona isn't exactly a comedy, at least not in the manner of Allen's "early, funny ones," but it's informed by a rueful wit that finds its fullest expression in reflective voiceover commentary. Spoken by Christopher Evan Welch, but surely on behalf of the 73-year-old auteur, this element of the film is neither (as some ...